Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black Installation guide

Brand: Noctua

Model: NH-U12S chromax.black

Type: Installation guide

This manual will guide you through the installation

process of the SecuFirm2™ mounting system step

by step.

Prior to installing the cooler, please consult

compatibility centre on our website (ncc.noctua.at)

and verify that the cooler is fully compatible with your

motherboard, CPU, RAM and case. Please also make

sure that there are no compatibility issues with any

other components.

Double check that the heatsink and fan clips do not

make contact with the VGA card, other PCIe cards,

motherboard heatsinks or any other components.

Noctua cannot be held responsible for any damage or

losses caused by compatibility issues.

Should you encounter any difculties, please

check the FAQs on our website (faqs.noctua.at)

and don’t hesitate to contact our support team at

support@noctua.at.

Multilingual versions of this manual are available on our

website: www.noctua.at/manuals

Dear customer,

Thank you very much for choosing the Noctua

NH-U12S chromax.black.

First introduced in 2005, our NH-U12 series has

won more than 600 awards and recommendations

from leading international hardware websites and

magazines.

The NH-U12S is the latest addition to this prestigious

series and I’m condent that you will be able to sense

some of the research, attention and care we’ve put

into making this product.

Enjoy your Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black!

Yours sincerely,

Roland Mossig, Noctua CEO

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NOCTUA NH-U12S chromax.black

INSTALLATION MANUAL

INTEL AMD Transporting your system Fastening the heatsink to the CPU6

Caution: Please rst take off the fan as well as the

protection cover at the bottom side of the heatsink.

Then put the heatsink onto the CPU and screw it to the

screw threads of the mounting bars. Perform 2-3 turns

on each screw, then repeat until both are fully tightened.

Caution: Gently tighten the screws until they stop, but do

not use excessive force (max. torque 0.6 Nm).

Fan setup7

Reattach the fan to the heatsink using the supplied steel

clips:

Required mounting parts:

If you would like to use the cooler on an assembled

system and your case does not have a cut-out at

the rear side of the motherboard tray, you must rst

remove the motherboard from the case in order to be

able to install the supplied backplate.

Removing the motherboard1

Setting up the backplate2

First, identify the side of the backplate that should face

the motherboard (marked with caution signs). Then

choose the appropriate hole spacing for your socket

and insert the four bolts into the backplate from

the opposite side (marked with model name,

SecuFirm2™ branding and numbers for hole spacing)

at the appropriate position.

4x NM-IPS1

black plastic spacers for

LGA1200/115x

4x NM-IPS3

blue plastic spacers for

LGA1851/1700

4x NM-IBT5

bolts

4x NM-ICS1

clip-on spacers

4x NM-ITS1

thumb screws

2x NM-IMB3

mounting bars

1x NM-IBP4

backplate

LGA1851, LGA1700,

LGA1200 & LGA115x

Attaching the backplate3

Installing the mounting bars4

Put the plastic spacers onto the bolts of the backplate,

then add the mounting bars.

Use hole position 1 for LGA1200/LGA115x (LGA1150,

LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156) and hole position 2

for LGA1851/LGA1700:

Caution: Choose the alignment of the mounting bars

according to the desired nal orientation of the cooler.

Position 1:

LGA1200/115x

Position 2:

LGA1851/1700

Applying the thermal paste5

If there are residual traces of thermal paste or thermal

pads on your CPU, please clean them off rst. Then

apply the supplied NT-H1 thermal paste onto the CPU

as shown in the following images.

For LGA1851/LGA1700, apply 5 small dots; 4 dots

with ~2mm diameter near the corners plus 1 dot with

3-4mm diameter in the centre:

Caution: Applying too much thermal paste will lower

heat conductivity and cooling performance!

For LGA1200/LGA115x (LGA1150, LGA1151, LGA1155,

LGA1156) apply a single 4-5mm dot in the centre:

NM-IPS3 (blue)

LGA1851/1700

NM-IPS1 (black)

LGA1200/115x

Use the black NM-IPS1 plastic spacers for LGA1200/

LGA115x (LGA1150, LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156)

and the blue NM-IPS3 spacers for LGA1851/LGA1700.

Caution: Make sure that the curved sides of the

mounting bars are pointing outwards.

Fix the mounting bars using the four NM-ITS1 thumb

screws.

Caution: Gently tighten the screws until they stop, but do

not use excessive force (max. torque 0.6 Nm).

Fix the bolts using the NM-ICS1 clip-on spacers.

Caution: The supplied backplate will install over the

motherboard’s stock backplate, so the motherboard’s

stock backplate must not be taken off.

Place the backplate on the rear side of the motherboard

so that the bolts protrude through the mounting holes.

Please rst choose the correct set of plastic spacers

and the correct set of holes on the mounting bars

according to whether you are using an LGA1200/

LGA115x ( LG A1150, LG A1151, LG A1155, LG A1156)

or an LGA1851/LGA1700 socket motherboard.

Position 1:

LGA1200/115x

Position 2:

LGA1851/1700

Use hole position 1 for LGA1200/LGA115x (LGA1150,

LGA1151, LGA1155, LGA1156) and hole position 2

for LGA1851/LGA1700:

INTEL

Orientation 1

(default orientation)

Orientation 2

Connect the fan to the motherboard’s CPU fan header.

Depending on your CPU and the temperature inside the

case, you may interconnect the supplied NA-RC6 Low-

Noise Adaptor (L.N.A.) in order to further reduce the

fan’s operating noise.

Caution: When using the L.N.A., check the temperature

of your CPU using appropriate software (e.g. the

respective applications of your motherboard

manufacturer), in order to evade automatic throttling

of the CPU due to the increased temperature. If the

cooling performance is insufcient, please increase

case ventilation or remove the L.N.A.

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NOCTUA NH-U12S chromax.black

INSTALLATION MANUAL

Adding a second fan

The NH-U12S includes an extra set of fan clips and an

extra set of thicker anti-vibration pads for installing a

second NF-F12 fan in push/pull mode in order to further

improve cooling performance.

Please use the thicker anti-vibration pads on the rear

NF-F12 fan for improved acoustics if space allows. The

splitter cable supplied with the retail NF-F12 fan can

be used to control the speed of both fans via the same

motherboard fan header.

1. Remove standard pads on rear fan

2. Install thick pads on rear fan

Transporting your system!

Warranty, support and FAQs!

Even with high-grade products and strict quality control,

the possibility of defects cannot be eliminated entirely.

Therefore, we aim at providing the highest possible level

of reliability and convenience by offering a warranty

period of 6 years and direct, fast and straightforward

RMA service.

Should you encounter any problems with your

NH-U12S chromax.black, please don’t hesitate to

contact our support team ([email protected]).

Please also consult the FAQ section on our website:

faqs.noctua.at

Airow

Front fan (standard pads)

Rear fan (thick pads)

While Noctua recommends using an NF-F12 fan for

best results in dual fan mode, the extra set of fan

clips can also be used to install most other fans.

In this case, please put the supplied self-adhesive

anti-vibration strips onto the heatsink to avoid vibrations

being transmitted to the cooler.

Clip position for

thick pads:

Clip position for

standard pads:

Airflow

As it is not possible to reliably calculate or control the

forces that act upon a system during transport (e.g. in

shipping), we generally recommend, for safety reasons,

taking the fan off the heatsink in order to reduce the

weight below 700g. Noctua cannot be held responsible

for any damage that may arise due to excessive stress

during transport if you keep the fan installed.

3AM5 & AM4

AMD

The SecuFirm2™ mounting system will install directly

to the motherboard’s stock backplate, so please rst

remove the motherboard’s stock CPU cooler retention

module by unscrewing it from the backplate (if it has not

already been removed for previous installations).

On AM4, the stock backplate will become loose when

unscrewing the retention module, so hold it in place for

the next step. If you have lost your stock AM4 backplate,

please contact us at [email protected]. On AM5, the

stock backplate is screw-xed to the socket, so should

simply remain in place.

4x NM-APS4

grey plastic spacers

NM-AMB15a

mounting bar

4x NM-ALS1

long screws

NM-AMB15b

mounting bar

Removing the stock retention module −

putting the backplate in place

AMD stock backplate

(pre-installed on the motherboard)

Installing the mounting bars2

On AM5 and Ryzen 5000/3000 series AM4 CPUs,

choose the -7mm offset hole position to ensure optimal

contact quality and performance.

On other AM4 CPUs, or if there are any compatibility

issues in the offset position (e.g. clearance with

motherboard heatsinks), please choose the standard

position (0).

First put the plastic spacers onto the screw threads of

the backplate. Then x the NM-AMB15 mounting bars

using the four NM-ALS1 long screws.

Applying the thermal paste

Caution: Make sure that the “CPU →” markings point

towards the CPU and that the NM-AMB15a bar with the

“WEST” marking is installed on the west (left) side of

the socket and the NM-AMB15b bar with the “EAST”

marking is installed on the east (right) side of the socket,

as shown above.

Gently tighten the screws until they stop, but do not use

excessive force (max. torque 0.6 Nm).

Fastening the heatsink to the CPU

Please refer to step 6 of the Intel installation manual.

Standard position (no offset)

Even with high-grade products and strict quality control,

the possibility of defects cannot be eliminated entirely.

Therefore, we aim at providing the highest possible level

of reliability and convenience by offering a warranty

period of 6 years and direct, fast and straightforward

RMA service.

Should you encounter any problems with your

NH-U12S chromax.black, please don’t hesitate to

contact our support team ([email protected]).

Please also consult the FAQ section on our website:

faqs.noctua.at

Standard position

(no offset)

-7mm

Offset position

-7mm

Fan setup

Warranty, support and FAQs

Transporting your system

As it is not possible to reliably calculate or control the

forces that act upon a system during transport (e.g. in

shipping), we generally recommend, for safety reasons,

taking the fan off the heatsink in order to reduce the

weight below 700g. Noctua cannot be held responsible

for any damage that may arise due to excessive stress

during transport if you keep the fan installed.

Please refer to step 7 of the Intel installation manual.

If there are residual traces of thermal paste or thermal

pads on your CPU, please clean them off rst.

Then, apply 5 dots of the supplied NT-H1 thermal paste;

4 small dots with ~2mm diameter near the corners plus

1 dot with 3-4mm diameter in the centre:

Caution: Applying too much thermal paste will lower

heat conductivity and cooling performance!

-7mm

Offset position

-7mm

Required mounting parts:

Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black Installation guide

Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black Installation guide

Noctua NH-U12S chromax.black Installation guide

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